Exploring the links between research demand and supply: The case of Chagas

This paper contributes to the literature assessing how scientific research can improve its contribution societal needs. Our context of analysis is scientific research on the socio-environmental problems associated to Chagas, a neglected tropical disease. We use mixed methods in our approach. We identify societal needs and perceived demand for Chagas research based on secondary evidence and interviews with key informants in Argentina, while research supply is identified through a bibliometric analysis on research production worldwide and in Argentina since the 1990s. We find three areas of research demands: i) vector control, ii) early diagnosis and reduction in congenital transmission and iii) social science research to improve policy outcomes. We identify that research supply in these three areas has evolved differently and is steered by diverse factors. While vector control seems to be attended by local research systems, severe deficits turn up in the social sciences both locally and globally. There has been increasing attention worldwide in diagnosis and congenital transmission, with international cooperation as an important driver, although Argentinean research seems not to be intensively participating in these networks. We claim that different policy pathways derive from an analysis that takes into consideration perceived demand and supply of research in different areas.